Hotel charging etiquette...

When I get my Model S in the Spring, I plan to take my holidays and drive across the country (Canada), culminating with my friend's wedding in Nova Scotia. I've already got a rough draft of my route and have selected EV-friendly hotels with on-site charging to spend each night.

Something got me thinking though, what is the proper etiquette for using a hotel charger? I guess my original plan was to check in at the hotel, grab something to eat, plug in my car, and head to bed for the night. My car would occupy the charger from ~10pm to ~6am whether it was charging or not. Now, I'll probably be pretty low on power when I roll in to town and will need most, if not all, of that time to actually charge, but what if someone else checks into the hotel late and needs the charger? The chances of this occurring at this point in time are very rare, but I don't want to be the jerk who blocked the charger all night when someone else needed it, either.

What is the proper procedure here? Do I have to wander out and move my car at 2 or 3 in the morning if it happens to finish charging early? Do I leave a note with the front desk with my contact info which they can give to someone who inquires about using the charger? Do I play the odds and just not worry about it?

When I get my Model S in the Spring, I plan to take my holidays and drive across the country (Canada), culminating with my friend's wedding in Nova Scotia. I've already got a rough draft of my route and have selected EV-friendly hotels with on-site charging to spend each night.

Something got me thinking though, what is the proper etiquette for using a hotel charger? I guess my original plan was to check in at the hotel, grab something to eat, plug in my car, and head to bed for the night. My car would occupy the charger from ~10pm to ~6am whether it was charging or not. Now, I'll probably be pretty low on power when I roll in to town and will need most, if not all, of that time to actually charge, but what if someone else checks into the hotel late and needs the charger? The chances of this occurring at this point in time are very rare, but I don't want to be the jerk who blocked the charger all night when someone else needed it, either.

What is the proper procedure here? Do I have to wander out and move my car at 2 or 3 in the morning if it happens to finish charging early? Do I leave a note with the front desk with my contact info which they can give to someone who inquires about using the charger? Do I play the odds and just not worry about it?

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I leave a note on my dash with my name and cell phone number so they can call me.

If you will be fully charged before you go to bed then it might be nice to unplug if you can. If it will finish deep into the night I don't think anyone expects your to unplug at 4AM.

Leaving a note saying at least 'if you need to unplug me, contact the front desk and they will reach me' or leaving your mobile number too works. You could also unplug first thing when you wake up before breakfast in case someone comes in early. Good luck!

You could even estimate your anticipated charge time based on the rate of charge and how far until you have until full (or your target charge level). On your sign you could post the time you expect the charging to complete so another EV could unplug you and use the charger without wondering if they are interrupting your charge. This assumes the charger is accessible from more than one space (many are) and the space is open for the other driver.